14 April 2010

Are you looking for some easy acoustic guitar songs for beginners? Here are five songs everybody is sure to know that can be played with just two chords.

1. Oh My Darlin' Clementine

Anybody who watched the Huckleberry Hound cartoons as a kid will know the song "Oh My Darlin' Clementine". Huckleberry sang this song, an American western folk ballad that tells the story of a bereaved lover who lost his darling in the 1849 California Gold Rush.

You can play this song with the D and A7 chords and use a 3/4 strum pattern. It sounds nice too with a bass strum, pick the fourth string on beat one of the D chords then strum twice, pick the fifth string on beat one of A7 chords and strum twice.

2. Hush Little Baby

Hush Little Baby is a another well-known song that's easy to play. A traditional lullaby in question and answer format, the lyrics promise all kinds of rewards to the child if he or she is quiet. To play this song use the C and G chords and a 4/4 up and down strum pattern.

3. Eleanor Rigby

It's not just traditional songs that you can play with two-chords, even the Beatles used this form in a couple of their famous songs. Eleanor Rigby is a haunting song about loneliness from their 1966 album Revolver. Despite its simple structure the song ranked 137 in Rolling Stone magazine's 2004 list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

You can play this song on guitar with just the two chords C and Em.

4. Paperback Writer

According to Wikipedia Paul McCartney aimed to create a song with a melody backed by only a single chord and just missed his goal with Paperback Writer. Paperback Writer was the Beatle's eleventh single in 1966 and went to number one in several countries.

McCartney may have missed his goal but he still left us a lively and dynamic acoustic guitar song beginners to enjoy. The verse is played on a single G7 chord through until the ending on a C.

5. Born In The USA

A more recent hit, "Born in the U.S.A." is one of Bruce Springsteen's best known singles. Widely thought of as a patriotic anthem the song in fact tells of the effects of the Vietnam War from the point of view of a veteran. The song ranked 275th on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

The song is in 4/4 time, alternate B chords and then E chords for two lines each during the verses. For the chorus play B for two "Born in the U.S.A.'s", then E for the third and finally B for the last.

What could make for easier acoustic guitar songs for beginners than these simple two-chord songs? With a simple structure these are all real songs that are sure to be popular with any audience. Why not learn one today?